The Lacrosse Stick Mystery
by Rakuda4236
Summary: A short story I wrote using the prompt "The body was lying face up". An Agatha Christie style story with what I hope is a plot as clever as one of hers. Written when I was 16, has no relation to any Agatha Christie book.
1. Chapter 1

**Poirot's**

_**Lacrosse Stick Mystery**_

I

**The body was lying face up…**

"This is a most unusual case," said Poirot, as he bent over the body of Lord Edgar.

"I knew that when I saw it," said Lady Alice, wife of Lord Edgar, who was looking distraught. "I walked into the drawing room, to fetch a book I left it here, and it was dark and I tripped over something soft. I hastened to turn the light on, and I saw the body. It gave me such a fright!" Her voice went up an octave whilst she spoke.

"Do not fret Mademoiselle, it will be fine," said Poirot soothingly. "It was good of you to act so calmly by telephoning the police. Now what was the time when you discovered the body? Did you perchance happen to look at a clock?"

"Yes," said Lady Alice slowly "There's a clock outside the drawing room, I looked at it on my way in, and it was just before 10 o'clock"

"Merci," said Poirot "It is good that you can remember. Now, do you have any idea where the murder weapon came from?"

"NO!" said Lady Alice forcefully, "No one here plays lacrosse, and no one would own a stick if they didn't!"

"Then this is then really most unusual, and that is saying quite a bit considering some cases I have had. What intrigues me is why would the murderer leave such an obvious weapon with the body?" said Poirot slowly "Do they not have any sense?"

"Oh, will you be able to find out who did it?" burst out Lady Alice, beginning to cry.

"Do not cry Mademoiselle, I am sure inspector Jefferson and I can get to the bottom of this. I think you should go and lie down, this has been very stressful for you."

Poirot ushered her from the room, and inspector Jefferson entered.

"Nasty business this is" he said thoughtfully. "Never seen anything like it. A lacrosse stick as the murder weapon, what a strange choice…"

"It indeed has never been done, at least as far as I know" said Poirot, with a faraway look on his face, as though he was thinking hard "We should interview the other occupants of the house, to see where they were at the time of the murder."

"Precisely what I was thinking," said Inspector Jefferson hastily, "you know, old chap, I'm very flattered to be working with you, your really have a sixth sense when it comes to murder"

"No, I just see what other overlook." said Poirot, trying to seem modest, "We should talk to Mademoiselle O'Dreir, the head maid here at Heatherfield Castle. They left the room to begin their interviews.


	2. Chapter 2

II

"I had no idea lord Edgar was dead, until I heard Lady Alice scream," said Miss O'Dreir, her Irish accent very pronounced. "I was doing some quick dusting before bed, the vases in the hall, and other things there, and I thought I heard someone scream upstairs. I went to investigate, and when I arrived on the second floor I saw Lady Alice running out of the drawing room. I asked her what was the matter, but it took her a few times telling her story for me to make sense of it."

"Were there any visitors on the night of the murder?" asked Inspector Jefferson, with a look at Poirot, as thought to check his question was a good one.

"Well, now that you mention it, there was." Miss O'Dreir said, seeming hesitant to tell them, "Charles Everworth, a close friend of Lady Alice, was here for a quick visit. He came over for an early supper, but left well before 8 o'clock, I saw him drive away myself."

"Do you think he would have a motive to kill Lord Edgar?" Poirot said interestedly.

"If he's the murderer, no one would believe it!" she replied "He is liked by everyone here, and was on great terms with Lord Edgar, they went fishing together most weekends and I _know_ Lady Alice only viewed him as a friend."

"Thank your for you time, you have been most helpful" said Poirot, indicating she was free to go.

"I just hope you will bring the murderer to justice" she said as she left the room.

"I really thought we were on to something there." Inspector Jefferson said in a disappointed tone. "When she said that a male friend of Lady Alice was visiting, I really thought we had our murderer."

"I still would count him as a suspect, we can not take one person's word as the whole truth"

"Yes, yes, you're right, suspect everyone!" inspector Jefferson said, with so much enthusiasm Poirot subconsciously leaned backwards.

"Maybe not so extreme as that" Poirot said quickly "but yes, never count anyone out with out very firm evidence. Also, I find the murderer is often the person it is most likely to be… but this is not always the case" Poirot said hastily at the sight of the inspector's face.


	3. Chapter 3

III

An hour later Poirot and Inspector Jefferson had finished interviewing James Drysdale, the butler, William Galveston, the gardener, and Robert Smith, the cook. He was discussing what had been said with Inspector Jefferson.

"The killer must have been a person who wishes to make life unpleasant for Lady Alice, for she seems to be the kind of person who everyone thinks will over react to something like this" Poirot said slowly, as thought he was not sure that he was correct. "I would not be surprised if I was one of the servants, if they did not like their job or their wage, there would be plenty for them to be angry about."

"I think that the butler's the only one with his story straight, he really seems to be an observant type," said Inspector Jefferson "seemed to know where everyone was, what the time was, everything!"

"He did indeed…" said Poirot, his thoughts very far away

"He even said that Miss O'Dreir was a quite keen lacrosse player whilst at school, he said she still has the stick, but not many people know that. However, there are no prints on the stick, the murderer wore gloves"

"Indeed… and we must not forger both the gardener and the cook say they wouldn't be surprised if it were Mademoiselle O'Dreir, they both feel there is something suspicious about her."

"Yes, I was just about to say that" Inspector Jefferson said. "I think we have found our killer"


	4. Chapter 4

IV

"I didn't do it!" Miss O'Dreir protested, "I had no reason to!"

"It was your lacrosse stick, from your room!' Inspector Jefferson said in a threatening voice, "You cannot deny it is yours!"

"It is my stick, I admit that, but a few weeks ago I felt that this was not the best place for me to keep it, it always seemed to be in my way. I took it home to my sister's house last week, she will look after it for me."

"Can anyone confirm this?" Poirot said, looking doubtful.

"Lady Alice can, saw me leave. She had given me the day off to visit my sister, she will tell you that I speak the only the truth! And, if I wanted to kill someone, why would I be stupid enough to kill him or her with a lacrosse stick that could belong to no one else but me? I an not so stupid as that!" She glared at Poirot and Inspector Jefferson.

"We'd best speak to Lady Alice then" Poirot said, "but perhaps we should wait until tomorrow, as she is still in shock"

"I'm not sure if she took it to her sister's house, I know she went there last week though" said Lady Alice, who no longer seemed distraught over the death of her husband

"Mr. Drysdale was under the impression that it was still here" Poirot said gently, as though not to stress Lady Alice.

"That man knows more than me about what happens in this house, he's really the best butler," said Lady Alice admiringly. "I don't know what I would do without him!"

"Is there anyone else who could confirm that Miss O'Dreir lacrosse stick in no longer here?" said Inspector Jefferson, angry that evidence against Miss O'Dreir was disappearing "Mr. Galveston, for instance?"

"I don't think that he would… he never knows these sorts of things." Lady Alice said, finishing abruptly.

"Thank you for your time" said Poirot

"There's something not quite right about her, she is never sure of her story" said Poirot.

"Oh, don't be so suspicious, old chap" Inspector Jefferson said, still seeming upset they hadn't found the killer, "I bet she just feels guilty that her servant killed Lord Edgar, and tried not to give any evidence against her."

"I still think that it would be a good idea to interview Mr. Galverston, he may be able to help us sort this out."

"Miss O'Dreir is a person none of us know much about, but her lacrosse stick is defiantly not here, I saw her take it to her sister's house." said Mr. Galverston, seemingly annoyed he had to answer questions again. "Anyway, back to what I was saying. One day she arrived here with Lord Edgar, who had been out for a drive, and he said she was now the head maid. The odd thing was, she knew nothing about being a servant, and she almost expected the other servants to wait on her, but I must have been imagining things."

"This is most unusual," said Poirot "Can you tell us any more? Anything you think would help, something about… Charles Everworth for instance?"

"Well, no you mention it, there is something suspicious…" said Mr. Galverston, looking into the distance as thought he was back in time "Whenever he comes for supper, even if it's a quite early, he never leaves before 9 o'clock, at that is early for him."

"He must have had a previous commitment." Poirot suggested "Thank you for your time."


	5. Chapter 5

V

"I have asked you all to be here because I have some news for you" said Poirot, as though he was telling a dramatic story

"Have you found out who did it?" said Robert Smith.

"No, I have not, but I have found something else, and this is no trivial thing that I know! Mademoiselle O'Dreir," Poirot said, looking at her "I heard that you were employed suddenly by Lord Edgar, with no evidence of experience as being a maid. This was something that made me think, why would Lord Edgar hire someone with no experience? Did he perhaps know here from somewhere? I decided to investigate. I contacted my secretary; Miss Lemon and I found that Mademoiselle O'Dreir is none other that…" he paused for suspense "Lord Edgar's Sister, who is on the run from the police, for the embezzlement of £100,000 from the Bank of London"

"What? Surely you are lying, this cannot be true!" Said Mr. Smith.

"I never speak anything but the truth," said Poirot indignantly "Miss O'Dreir, do you deny this?" He glared at her.

"I never…! No, my game is up," She said, dropping her fake accent "I had kept it hidden for so long, but when you arrived looking for the murderer, I knew I was doomed. I had intended to leave tonight, before you found out, but I am too late. I did not, however, kill my brother. I did not want the Police and the Yard coming here and asking questions. But who, may I ask, told you?"

"Mr. Galverston told us that no one knew much about you, and that when you arrived here at Heatherfield Castle you knew nothing about being a maid. We then spoke to My Drysdale, who knew who you were because he had seen a photograph of you in the newspaper." Inspector Jefferson said, glancing at Poirot, who nodded at him. "We now have you confession down on paper, and request that you come quietly." He escorted her from the room.


	6. Chapter 6

VI

"Well, it seems we have come to solve one mystery, and have ended up solving another," said Inspector Jefferson, with a look of satisfaction. "However" he sighed, "we are no closer to finding the murderer than we were before." His look of satisfaction vanished as though a light had been turned out.

"That is not necessarily the case. We now know it could have not been Madamemoiselle O'Dreir, and she seemed to be the most likely culprit. I think we should have another look at the scene of the murder."

The next day, Poirot and Inspector Jefferson entered the drawing room, which had not been touched since the murder. They had already inspected the room, but it was merely a quick glance, and they both felt that the possibility of having missed something was quite likely. The body however, was one thin that had been removed.

"There isn't anything here!" Said Inspector Jefferson impatiently "We're wasting our time."

"We may be," said Poirot calmly "then again, we may not. One footprint will lead to another"

"Stop speaking in riddles, it's really quite annoying!" Said Inspector Jefferson, beginning to lose his temper.

"They are only riddles to those who will not think. Anyway, we do not have time to argue, I believe I have found something." He showed Inspector Jefferson a button that had rolled under a chair, in the far corner of the room, well away from the door. "This does not look like an ordinary button, it is to expensive to belong to one of the servants. See the design on it, that is not English design."

"Then where is it from?" Inspector Jefferson asked, a strange glint in his eyes.

"I would say Italy, or perhaps Spain. But this is only a guess."

"Whom could it belong to? Lady Alice?"

"No, it is the button of a man."


	7. Chapter 7

VII

"This isn't Edgar's button" Said James Drysdale "He only wore what on would call typical English clothing, and he was never given anything that would have a button like this."

"Do you have any idea whose it could be?" Asked Poirot.

"Not a clue, but if I had to take a guess I would say Charles Everworth, he's the only person that would own clothing like this."

"Thank you" Said Inspector Jefferson.

"Would Mr. Everworth have been in here on the night of the murder?" Poirot asked Lady Alice.

"No, certainly not!" Answered Lady Alice Vehemently, "We only came in here when we used to play cards, and we don't do that anymore. I wish we still would, but he seems to think that he to good for things like that. Its such a shame that…"

"Thank you for your time," Said Poirot, interrupting Lady Alice's reflections. "You may go now."

Later that day, Poirot and Inspector Jefferson went to talk to Charles Everworth. However, when they passed at the front gate of Heatherfield Castle, they bumped into someone leaving.

"Beautiful Morning isn't it?" He said cheerfully, "and what brings you here?"

"We are the detectives looking into the murder of Lord Edgar." Replied Inspector Jefferson "and who might you be?"

"I'm Charles Everworth, a close friend of Lady Alice"

"What a stroke of luck, we were looking for you." Said Inspector Jefferson "We only wanted to ask you a few questions." He added quickly, at the sight of Charles Everworth's reaction.

"Well," he replied, relaxing "as I'm sure you heard, I was indeed there on the night of the murder, but I left well before 8 o'clock"

"And where did you go once you left Heatherfield Castle?"

"Home." replied Charles Everworth, rather abruptly.

"Did you see anyone on you way home?" Inspector Jefferson Asked

"Well… Gosh, I really can't seem to remember. Wait, I completely forgot." He said, looking shocked "I went to the bar to have a few drinks. I arrived at about half past eight I left about an hour and a half later, perhaps I stayed even longer, I don't really remember."

"Can anyone confirm what you have told us?" Poirot interjected.

"The bartender, Luke Abercrombie, saw me."

Do you happen to know a Miss O'Dreir, the head maid at Heatherfield castle?" Asked Inspector Jefferson

"Of course, accent like that, it's hard _not_ to know her."

"It seems you misunderstood the question, did you know her before she was a maid there, or from somewhere else?"

"Not that I know of. Anything else you want to ask me?"

"Only one more thing, as I see you are impatient to go. Is this your button?" Poirot showed him the button found in the drawing room.

"Yes, it must have come off when I walked to the gate, I walked into a bush, it was such a dark night. Is that where you found it?"

"Yes, it is." Poirot replied

"Yes, thank you for returning it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." and he strolled of down the lane without a backwards glance.

"No, Charles couldn't have Killed Lord Edgar, he was here all the time, and didn't leave till about a quarter past ten" said Luke Abercrombie, whilst cleaning glasses. Poirot and Inspector Jefferson had come to the local pub to question him.

"Are you sure you couldn't have left without you seeing" Poirot

"Look where I'm standing" he said with the tone of a teacher telling a student something very obvious, "I have an unobstructed view of the door, and Charles _always _sits over there, he indicated a table on the other side of the bar. I never leave here for more than half a minute, and with the bar as packed as it is of a night, no one over there," he gestured in the direction of the table he had pointed out earlier "could leave without me seeing."

"I see," said Poirot, walking from the table to the door. "If it were crowded, it could not be done in the time you were away." He smiled at Luke as he left.


	8. Chapter 8

A thank you to James Birdsong, my only reviewer. Glad to see people are enjoying this fic. This is the second last chapter.

VIII

"You seem quite pleased with yourself. Why?" Said Inspector Jefferson, hurrying to keep up with Poirot, who was racing back to Heatherfield Castle. "Have you found the murderer?" Poirot did not answer. "Tell me!"

"When I am sure, I still must be sure it all fits together"

"They arrived at Heatherfield castle to find the place oddly quiet. They went to the door, and were let in by James Drysdale.

"Lady Alice is ill, try not to disturb her." He said, explaining the lack of noise.

"This is not good, I had some final questions to ask her to ask her," Poirot said "and I do not wish to have to wait until tomorrow."

"Well, if you disturb her, don't let her know I said you could. This needs to be sorted out as soon as it can. The toll that this is taking on Lady Alice's health…" he showed them to Lady Alice's room, and told them no to stress her.

"Enter, if you must." Lady Alice whispered, her voice barley audible.

"I am so sorry to have to disturb you, but a have a few final questions to ask you. First, what did Charles Everworth wear on the night of the murder?"

"I think he was wearing his black suit, or perhaps it was the grey one? No, it was definitely the black suit."

"A plain suit?" asked Inspector Jefferson

"Yes, but all the more striking because of it. But why do you want to know? Do you think he could have been the murderer?"

"Anyone could have been."

"Well, what do you make of this?" Inspector Jefferson asked Poirot "Do you have any idea at all?"

"Yes, but I will wait until everyone is here."


	9. Chapter 9

And now for the (long) grand finale

IX

"Thank you for being here." Poirot said to the group assembled in the sitting room. "I hope that together we have the evidence to bring the murderer to justice,"

"Then why do I have to be here? I was in the bar the whole time, and know nothing about what happened." Charles Everworth interrupted "I had nothing to do with it."

"Your evidence might be able to provide an alibi for someone else." said Poirot "And please, do not interrupt me again" While this exchange was happening, Lady Alice had begun to look faint.

"At twenty minutes until ten, Lady Alice discovered the body Lord Edgar, who had been murderer with a lacrosse stick, an unusual and rather obvious weapon. The autopsy conducted by the doctor revealed that he had only been dead for forty-five minutes at the very most. The next day, Mademoiselle O'Dreir identified the stick as belonging to her, but it had been at her sister's house for the past week, and she could not have been to her sister's house to get it. So I come to the next question, who used the lacrosse stick to kill Lord Edgar? Who knew where it was? I knew that I needed answers, yet they were eluding my grasp. I at first thought that Miss O'Dreir was guilty, but once I had found that she was really the sister of Lord Edgar, and was hiding from the police, that she would not be as stupid to risk the police coming here, and she did not need his money, of have anything else to gain from his death."

"Yes, we know all that, but _who killed him_?" Said Robert Smith impatiently, looking slightly nervous as to what he would hear.

"I am coming to that." Poirot said, seeming utterly sick of the interruptions. "I then thought 'Who else would stand to gain anything from the death of Lord Edgar?' and the most likely person seemed to be Charles Everworth."

"But I already told you," he said, exasperated by the continual accusations, "I _did not kill him_. I'm sick of this, I'm leaving"

"You will do no such thing!" Poirot insisted, "Do you deny this is your button?" He showed him the button that he had found."

"Yes, but I dropped that in the driveway I was never in the drawing room."

"No, you wanted me to _believe_ that you dropped it in the driveway, but the place where I found it was actually the drawing room, the scene of the murder."

"But I didn't do it!" he protested, "How do you know it was from what I wore on the night of the murder? And for the last time, I was in the bar the whole time!"

"I was given the evidence for that by all the servants, who say it was an unmistakable suit you wore."

"I admit, I was in there earlier, but I only looked in quickly to find Miss O'Dreir. Anyway, _I was in the bar_, as I'm sure Luke told you.

"We can not guarantee that is the truth, all we know is that you never left the _front_ door of the bar. However, there is a secret door, concealed in the corner of the bar where you were sitting. I am sure not many people know about it, as it is very well hidden."

"Well," Charles Everworth said, in a voice that was clearly suppressing rage, "there is no point in denying it, I killed Lord Edgar, but I regret nothing, for he had it coming to him, the stuck up prat." He edged towards the door, evidently trying to escape, but was caught by Inspector Jefferson.

"However," Said Poirot, continuing with his narrative "you were not alone, for you had an accomplice in the crime, who would ensure that the body was not found until you were far away from the scene of the murder, and back in the bar being seen by people that could give you an alibi." He looked at lady Alice "You, Mademoiselle, were that accomplice."

"_What_?" The word escaped from several astonished mouths.

"Your evidence, which clearly was all lies, always stopped any blame from landing on him, and what you said also tied in with the lies he told. But the reason you helped him, is that you wanted your husband out of the way, to allow you to marry again and for you" Poirot said turning to look at Charles Everworth "to take his place as Lord of this castle"

There was silence for a moment.

"Charles?" Lady Alice screeched at him "that's not what you said to me." Her voice had taken the tone of a child about to have a tantrum. "You told me that he was guilty of killing his father and was on the run from the police, and took the place of the real Lord Edgar, who he also murdered."

"Well, you said yourself, you would be happier without him, you loved the idea that he was a murderer, it took away the guilt you were feeling about our plan."

"I wish I had never gone through with it. And I can't believe," she turned to state accusingly a Charles "that I ever loved you, had let myself have feelings for you when I knew it was wrong, and helped you end the life of my husband!" But at that point her broke and she collapsed into tears. 

Fin


End file.
